Septic tanks, sewage plants eyed for Manila Bay slums

MANILA, Philippines — While the government is planning the relocation of informal settlers from Manila Bay, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said yesterday it plans to provide the informal settlers temporary sanitation facilities.

As part of phase one of the Manila Bay rehabilitation program, Secretary Roy Cimatu said the DENR will enforce a sanitation system apart from engaging in the cleanup of designated waterways, reducing discharges from houses and establishments and repairing leaks in old sewer lines.

Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said they are considering building communal septic tanks and temporary sewage treatment plants for the informal settlers.

Figures provided by the DENR showed that almost 233,000 informal settler families reside along waterways leading to the bay and directly discharge their waste into the water.

Last Sunday, Cimatu officially declared the start of the Manila Bay rehabilitation. The DENR’s Laguna Lake Development Authority ordered two restaurants and a water treatment facility of a real estate developer in Pasay shut down for being sources of “pollutive wastewater” in the bay.